Paris Saint-Germain's heavily rotated team were forced into extra-time in the last-16 of the French Cup but finished with a flourish as Julian Draxler, teenager Moussa Diaby and Edinson Cavani rescued victory against third-division Villefranche.

The minnows were the home side but the match took place 35 minutes away from their 3,200-capacity ground at Lyon's 59.000-capacity Olympic Stadium.

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel clearly had one eye on next week's Champions League tie against Manchester United with Kylian Mbappe, Cavani and Thiago Silva among the stars left out of the starting line-up.

Julian Draxler struck in extra-time to rescue Paris Saint-Germain in last-16 of the French Cup

Edinson Cavani put Draxler through and let out a roar of relief for the French Cup holders

Teenage forward Moussa Diaby (back) secured the result deep in extra-time as he celebrated

Cavani, having put Draxler through for the opener, sealed the win with seconds left in the tie

It was all smiles for the Uruguayan as he played a key role in the late revival from the visitors

But those who came in - the likes of former Stoke City forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - did little to boost their case in asking for more minutes as they lacked creativity and nous to put the minnows to the sword.

Tuchel, looking to avoid another game piling up, turned to Mbappe and Cavani in search of the star quality needed to get a goal with time running out.

Villefrance threw bodies on the line and defended valiantly, particularly after the introduction of Mbappe and Cavani.

The contest went into extra-time, the bewilderment as to PSG's struggles reverberating around the crowd, but in the end Draxler converted after being played in by Cavani to ease the nerves.

There was still time for 19-year-old striker Diaby to get himself a senior goal for PSG with Villefranche running out of steam late on.

Coasting to the French Cup title last season, it took late heroics in Lyon, where they lost in the league ensure the defending champions squeezed through to the quarter-finals.

Kylian Mbappe was chucked on in the second half to spare the blushes of the Ligue 1 leaders

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was given a rare start as Thomas Tuchel heavily rotated his side

The likes of Thiago Silva (left) and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon watched the tie from the bench

Instead of Villefranche's 3,200-capacity ground, the tie was played 35 minutes away in Lyon

PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was forced into an acrobatic save during a close contest

Young attacking starlet Christopher Nkunku was given a rare chance to impress from the start

Draxler struggled to have much of an impact for much of the game before netting a vital goal

Mbappe was brought on in the second half and he proved tricky for the Villefranche defenders